The Spook's Battle (26 page)

 I wasn't keen to reenter a house where Tibb had terrorized me and Wurmalde had accused me of murder--and where, no doubt, Father Stocks's body was still lying atop the sheets, the knife in his chest--but it had to be done. We were walking into danger, without a doubt. Both Tibb and the formidable Wurmalde might be lying in wait, not to mention servants and possibly other witches from the clans. But as we drew closer, it soon became clear that something was badly wrong. The front door was opening and closing in the wind."Well, lad," the Spook said, "as they've left it open for us, we might as well use it!"We made our way to the front door and entered. I was about to close the door behind us when my master put his hand on my shoulder and shook his head. We kept perfectly still and listened very carefully. Apart from the noise of the door and the whine of the wind outside, the house was silent. The Spook looked up the staircase."We'll let the door carry on banging," he whispered into my ear. "To change even the slightest thing could alert anyone inside. It's too quiet, so I suspect the servants have fled the house. We'll start by searching the downstairs rooms."

 The dining room was empty; it looked as if nobody had been in the kitchen for days--there were unwashed dishes in the sink and a smell of rotting food. Despite the morning light, Read Hall was gloomy, and there were dark corners where anything could have been lurking. I kept thinking of Tibb. Was the creature still somewhere here?The last room we came to was the study. As soon as we entered, I could smell death. A body was lying facedown between the bookshelves."Light the lantern," the Spook commanded. "Let's take a closer look."It was clear that the corpse was Nowell. His shirt was in tatters, almost ripped from his back, and it was matted with dried blood, with more leading from the body toward the far door, which was open. There were also books scattered around him. The Spook glanced up at the top shelf, from where they'd clearly fallen, before kneeling down and rolling the dead magistrate onto his back. The eyes were wide open, the face twisted in terror."It looks like Tibb killed him," the Spook said, gazing up at the highest shelf again. "No doubt it was waiting there and dropped down onto his shoulders as he walked beneath. The creature might still be in the house." He pointed to the trail.He opened the door. Beyond it, the blood trail led down narrow stone steps into the darkness. My master went down, his staff at the ready, while I folio-wed close behind, holding the lantern high. We found ourselves at the entrance to a small cellar. Along the right-hand wall were well-stocked wine racks. The stone floor was clean and tidy and the trail of dried blood led to the far corner, where Tibb lay facedown.He was even smaller than I remembered when he'd gazed down at me from the ceiling--hardly larger than a medium-size dog. His legs were tucked underneath the thick black fur of his body, -which -was caked with dried blood.

 But small as he was, I knew that Tibb -was incredibly strong. Father Stocks had been unable to fight him off, and No-well had been murdered by him. Both victims had still been in the prime of life.The Spook approached Tibb cautiously, and I heard a click as he released the blade from its recess in the end of his staff. At the sound Tibb stretched out his arms, unsheathed his claws, and lifted his head, turning its left side upward to face us. It was the head that sent a particular chill of horror down my spine. It was completely hairless and smooth, and the eyes were cold, like those of a dead fish, the open mouth revealing thin needlelike teeth. For a moment I expected Tibb to leap at the Spook, but instead the creature gave a groan of anguish."You've arrived too late," Tibb said. "My mistress has abandoned me, leaving me to die. So many things I've seen. So many.But not my own death. That's the last thing that any of us see!""Aye," said the Spook, readying his blade. "I hold your death in my hands. ..."

 But Tibb just laughed bitterly. "No," he hissed. "I'mdying even as you speak. My mistress never told me just how short my life would be. Nine short weeks in all. That's all I've had. Howcan that be right? Nine weeks from birth to old age and death.Now I lack even the strength to raise my body from this cold floor.So save your strength, old man. You need it for yourself. Precious Little time remains to you either. But the boy who stands at yourside may carry on your doomed work. That's if he lives beyond the new moon --""Where is Wurmalde now?" demanded the Spook."Gone! Gone! Gone to a place where you will never find her. Not until it's too late. Soon my mistress will summon the Fiend through the dark portal into this world. For two days he will do her bidding. That done, he will choose hid own path. Do you knowwhat task she has set? What price the Fiend must pay for whatmy mistress gives him?"

 The Spook sighed wearily but didn't bother to reply. I saw his hands twitch on the staff. He was readying himself to slay the creature."The death of this boy did the task. He must die because he is his mother's son. The don of our enemy. Once, in a distant land, she wad an immortal like my mistress and wielded dark power. But she faltered. Dedpite many warnings, she reached toward the light. So she was bound to a rock and left to die--left there to be destroyed by the sun, the very symbol of the light she wished to serve. But, by mischance, a human saved her. A fool freed her from her chaind --" "My dad was no fool!" I interrupted. "He was good and kind and couldn't bear to see her suffer. He wouldn't have allowed anybody to suffer like that.""Better for you, boy, had he passed on by. For then you wouldnever have been born. Never have lived your short, futile life! Butdo you think that merely by being rescued she wad changed for ever? Far from it! For a while she wad in torment, not knowingwhich way to go, dithering between darkness and light. Old habitsdie hard, and gradually the dark drew her back. So she wad given a second chance and commanded to slay her rescuer, but she prayed, disobeyed, and turned to the light once more. Those who serve the light are hard upon thenselves. To make up for what she had done, she gave herself a cruel penance: She surrendered her immortality. But that was only half of it. She chose to give her youth, the best part of her pitifully short life, to her rescuer. She gave herself to a mortal man, a common sailor, and chose to bearhim seven sons."

 "Seven sons 'who loved her!" I cried. "She was happy. She was content--""Happy! Happy! Do you think happiness corned do easily? Imagine what it must have been Like for one who wad once do high to serve a mortal man and hid brood, the stench of the farmyardever in her nostrils. To share hid bed while bid flesh withered with age. To deal with the tedium of the everyday routine. She regretted it, but at Last his death had freed her, ending her self-inflictedpenance, and now she has returned to her own land.""No' I said. "It wasn't like that at all! She loved my dad.""Love," sneered Tibb. "Love Love is a delusion that binds mortals to their fated. And now your mother had risked all in a bid to destroywhat my mistress holds dear. She wants to destroy the darkness, and she had fashioned you ad her weapon. So you must never beallowed to grow up into a man. We must put an end to you.""Aye," said the Spook, raising his staff, "and now it's time to put an end to you.""Have mercy," pleaded Tibb. "I need a Little more time. Letme die in peace."

 "What mercy did you show to Master Nowell?" demanded the Spook. "So what you gave to him, I'll give to you --"I turned away as the Spook stabbed downward. Tibb gave a short scream that transmuted itself into the squealing of a pig. There was a brief snuffling and then silence. Still not looking at the creature, I followed my master up the steps and back into the study."Nowell's body will have to stay unburied for a while' the Spook said, shaking his head sadly. "No doubt poor Father Stocks is still upstairs, and maybe we'll never find out what happened to Constable Barnes. As for Wurmalde, from what that creature just said, she could be anywhere, and we haven't time to just search blindly. We've still got the witch covens to deal with, so let's start by getting back to the tower. James should return soon with the men from Downham. We can't deal with the witches alone. We need to raise a small army and get ourselves organized. Time's running short."The Spook paused by Nowell's desk. It wasn't locked, and he started to search the drawers. Within moments he held up my silver chain."Here you are, lad," he said, throwing it toward me. "No doubt you'll be needing this before very long." We left Read Hall and set off in a heavy downpour for Malkin Tower, the things that Tibb had said going around and around inside my head.Wet and bedraggled, we made the journey through the tunnels without mishap. Then, as we prepared to climb the spiral steps up into the tower, I turned to the Spook, wanting to get a few things off my chest.

 "Do you think what Tibb said was true?" I asked."Which bits are you referring to, lad?" asked the Spook gruffly. "The creature belonged to the dark, and that makes anything it said dubious, to say the least. As you well know, the dark deceives whenever it is to its advantage to do so. It said it was dying, but how could I be sure that was the case? That's why I had to kill it there and then. It might have seemed cruel, but it was my duty. I had no choice.""I mean the bit about my mam once being like Wurmalde --being an immortal? As mam's sisters are lamias, I thought she'd be the same." "No doubt she is, lad. But what does being an immortal actually mean? This world itself will end one day. Maybe even the stars themselves will go out. No, I don't believe that anything lives forever in this world, and nothing with any sense would want to. But lamias live a very long time. In their human form they may seem to age, but once feral again they become young once more. They could have many lifetimes in human shape, and start out each time looking like a young woman. One day we may find out what that creature meant. Maybe it lied. Maybe it didn't. As your mam said, the answers are in those trunks, and one day, if all goes well, you'll maybe get a chance to look through them properly."

 "But what about the Fiend coming through the portal? What is a portal anyway? ""It's a sort of invisible gate. A weakness between this world and the places where creatures such as the Fiend dwell. Using dark magic, the witches will try to open it and allow the Fiend through. We'll just have to do our best to put a stop to it," said the Spook, his voice echoing up the steps. "We need to break up the Lammas sabbath and halt the ritual. Of course, that's much easier said than done. But, even if we fail, your mother's made provision. That's why she left you that room --""But would I have time to get there if the Fiend's been ordered to hunt me down and kill me? It's a long -way home.""Things loosed into the world often take time to gather their wits and gain power. Remember how the Priestown Bane was disorientated for a while? Once freed into the wider world, it was weakened at first and grew in power slowly. Well, I suspect this so-called Fiend may have the same problem. You'd get some time--how much, it's impossible to say. But if I do give the word, get yourself home just as soon as you can and take refuge in that room of yours.""There -was something else Tibb said that bothers me," I said. "Something he said when I saw him for the first time. He said that Mam was singing a goat song and I -was at its center. What could that mean?""You should have been able to work that out for your- self, lad. In your mam's tongue, the "word tragos means goat. And oide means ode or story. So a goat song is a tragedy. That's where we get the word from. And if you're at its center, Tibb is saying that your life will be tragic--wasted and doomed to failure. But it's best to look on the bright side and take all that with a pinch of salt. Each day we make decisions that shape our lives. I still can't accept the idea that anything can be preordained. No matter how powerful the dark becomes, we have to believe that, somehow, we'll defeat it. Look up there, lad! What do you see?""Steps leading to the upper part of the tower ..." "Aye, lad, steps--and a lot of them! But we're going to climb them, aren't we? Weary as my old bones are, we're going to climb every one of those steps until -we reach the upper floor and the waiting light. And that's what life's all about. So come on! Let's get on with it!"So saying, the Spook led the way up the spiral steps and I followed at his heels. Up toward the light.

Back To Downham

T
here was good news waiting for us back in the tower. Alice hadfound something that she really thought might finally cure Jack."Sent him into another deep sleep, it has," she explained. "But this potion heals the mind rather than the body. I translated it from one of your mam's notebooks --how to mix it, how much of each herb to use. Everything. And all the ingredients were inside the trunk, each one labeled.""I can't thank you enough," Ellie said, smiling at Alice warmly."Ain't me you need to thank--it's Tom's mam. Take years to learn all there is in that trunk," Alice continued. "Compared to this, Bony Lizzie knew nothing."Jack continued to sleep until late in the afternoon, and we were feeling really optimistic that, before long, it would be the old Jack who woke. But then we got the bad news.James returned. But he returned alone. The Downham villagers were too afraid to help."I tried my best," James said wearily, "but there was nothing more that I could do. Their courage has deserted them. Even Matt Finley, the blacksmith, refused to leave Downham."The Spook shook his head sadly. "Well, if they won't come to us, then we'll just have to go to them. But I'm not optimistic, James. You got through to them last time, and I felt confident that you'd be able to do it again. But we'll have to try. Tomorrow night is the Lammas sabbath, and we must disrupt it at all costs. No doubt Wurmalde will be with the other witches, and I think that's going to be my best chance of finding and binding her."So, soon after dark, we prepared to return to Downham. We were leaving Ellie, Jack, and Mary behind in the tower, where they'd be safe.

 "Well," said the Spook, looking at James, Alice, and me in turn, "I wish there were an easier way. But it's got to be done. I just hope we all come safely through what lies ahead. Whatever happens, one thing is in our favor. This tower is now in our hands, and the trunks and their contents are safe. So at least we've achieved that."My master was right. The lamias controlled Malkin Tower now. With luck, I'd soon be able to return and look through Mam's trunks properly. But first --hopefully with the help of the Downham villagers--we had to face the witch clans and break up their sabbath before the ritual could be carried out. So we left the tower, using the tunnels once more. As we walked north, the wind was blustering in from the west and there was a chill in the air. At Downham -we spent the remainder of the night in Father Stocks's cottage, grabbing a few hours' sleep while we could. Up before dawn to catch the men before their working day began, we wasted no time in calling at each house in the village, desperately trying to rally an army. I accompanied Alice, dealing with the outlying cottages and nearest farms, while the Spook and James concentrated on its heart.We arrived at the first cottage just in time to find its occupant stepping out into the gray dawn light.